Building on Vindy story, where are your loved/hated speed traps?

There’s some interesting chatter on vindy.com based on our Tuesday story “The Speedway” about speeding concerns in a Canfield neighborhood. (Read story here.)

So I ask: Where are some other crazy Valley areas for speeding or for speed traps?

I’ll offer two:

• I LOVE: U.S. 224 heading east into Poland village. The speed limit drops down to 25 mph from a 35 mph. It’s an especially jarring change if you just got off the I-680 Autobahn.

(Full disclosure: 1) I reside in Poland where all pets use the toilet and our streets are hand-scrubbed every night, and 2) I have yet to be caught speeding in the 25-mph zone.)

Contrary to the larger group opinion (i.e.: my neighbors), I applaud Poland’s 25 mph unofficial speed bump — and that 10 people per week, on average, are ticketed there. The well-policed nature of that stretch of U.S. 224 sends an even greater message consistent with the “Broken Windows” theory on crime and general nuisance that was popularized by NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani. And the day I get caught in the 25-mph zone (I will some day), I’ll gladly chalk it up as my ante to the “Broken Windows” effect.

• I HATE: Western Reserve Road between Canfield and Boardman. It’s 45 mph for much of the way, until you near Tippecanoe and New Buffalo roads, and it becomes 35 mph. It’s as barren a stretch of road as you’ll find in Nebraska, yet it has a lower speed limit than some neighborhoods in Poland, Boardman and Canfield. Adding frustration is my perception that it seems the police selectively patrol the speed zone:• Not westbound as you enter Canfield, where a hill works against your speeding. • But it’s often patrolled eastbound as you enter into Boardman and have a sizeable hill encouraging your speed — and smoking your brakes. While I say Boardman and Canfield, it’s officially a Beaver Township roadway.

A police pal there says it’s an unsafe area with high fatalities, historically. He also faxed me a list of speeding citations. It shows that no one cited for driving 45 mph or less in the 35 mph area. The citations all showed speeders in the mid- to high- 50s, and even as high as 62 mph in the 35 mph area. So those are my two areas. What can you add to this list?

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